Beyond the obvious: Europas neue Rechnung in Billionenhöhe – und der teure Irrtum

The European Union is proposing a massive financial increase, with the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFR) for the years 2028-2034 expected to reach nearly two trillion euros, a 60% rise. While Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasizes completing the single market, streamlining bureaucracy, and lower energy prices as key drivers for increased competitiveness, the implementation reveals a journey towards a centralized Union with strategic autonomy and competitive advantages coming from Brussels' increased bureaucracy.

This course of action, rather than a necessary course correction, risks further widening the gap in prosperity levels. A recent study by economists Cesare Buiatti, Joao Duarte, and Luis Felipe Sáenz analyzed five decades of European and American productivity growth (study "Europe Falling Behind: Structural Transformation and Labor Productivity Growth Differences Between Europe and the U.S.").

It found that Europe had reached 72% of US productivity per hour in 1970, almost matching the US level by 1995. However, since then, the trend has reversed, and Europe now only achieves around 86% of the US level.